Accountable Before God

Ecclesiastes 11:9

…follow the impulses of your heart and the desires of your eyes. Yet know that God will bring you to judgment for all these things.

"Get all you can" is a common motto when you are young because having things is the mark of success in our culture. It used to be that in a successful culture like ours, even the poorest household was able to have a TV. Now everyone has an expensive smartphone in their pocket. In her final recording, rock singer Janis Joplin sang, "Oh Lord, won't you buy me, a Mercedes Benz." She sang to the idolatry of material wealth. But her brief career at the top of the charts showed that you can't have it all and she died at age 27 from an overdose of heroin.

When a street evangelist asked a young couple what an abundant life would be like, they said a fancy car, lots of money and fame. Any mention of facing God after you die however, was met with scoffing because people want to live in denial of such accountability. They argue that the god they believe in would never send someone to hell, and they are right. Their god could not judge anyone because he doesn't exist. He is a figment of their imagination and is created to always support their sin.

But why should you warn someone facing God's judgment when they don't believe in it? Every person should fear what God will do if they die in their sin. If you were on an airplane and the engines failed, fear would motivate you to take action that could save you, so yes, fear can be your friend. If you were offered a parachute as the airplane is going down, your fear of hitting the ground will lead you to put it on and cinch it tight.

Those who are still in darkness and sin need to see Jesus as the only parachute that will save them on judgment day and we need to be honest with them about the consequences of facing God in their sin. Faith in that parachute will lead you to safety and only faith in the Lord Jesus Christ will save you from eternal destruction in hell. Learn how to share the Gospel with others in a clear way using what the Bible says. Pray for boldness to bring up eternity and what will happen after we die. Don't hesitate to ask your loved ones if they are sure of what will happen when they meet the Lord. One way to start such a conversation is to ask, "what is going to happen to you when you die?" Be bold and loving to those you know who are lost and tell them they need a Savior. They need Jesus.